EFFECT OF DIFFERENT REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES ON COLONY DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS IN Bombus terrestris L.

Bombus terrestris L. colonies show great variation in reproductive strategies, even if colonies are maintained under similar controlled conditions. Some colonies produce only males or only queens, some colonies produce both males and queens, while some produce neither males nor queens. This study was conducted to determine the colony growth and compare the development characteristics of four different B. terrestris colony types according to production of sexuals: producing both males and queens (MQW), producing only males (MW). producing only queens (QW) and producing no sexuals (W). In total, 113 of the 300 hibernated queens obtained from a commercial company established a colony. The results show that 50 colonies (44.25%) produced both males and queens, 33 colonies (29.20%) produced only males, 18 colonies (15.93%) produced only queens and 12 colonies (10.62%) produced no sexuals. In all groups, the first worker emerged in the seventh week and colonies reached saleable quality in the twelfth week. There were significant differences among the four groups in terms of saleable colony production ratio and colony longevity. There was a significant difference among the male producing groups (MQW and MW) in terms of the number of males produced. Although reproductive strategies of the colonies had a significant effect on the colony longevity, they did not affect the timing of the switch point and competition point, timing of individuals production, total number of workers produced, and longevity of queens in B. terrestris.